Last week we gave you some amazing no-bake Christmas desserts. Because you can never have enough Christmas desserts, here we have another 2 delicious delights to tempt your taste buds! Yes, they may require some baking or be a little bit more complex to put together, but oh-my-goodness are they well worth it!!
Don’t just take our word for it, jump in the kitchen and try out these delicious desserts and find out for yourself.
Triple Choc Low-Fat Pavlova
How “triple choc” and “low-fat” can both appear in the same recipe name is difficult to get my head around, but I am definitely not complaining! Pavlova is a classic Australian summer dessert and with this amazing recipe you can enjoy the same rich Pav flavour that you know and love, minus the guilt. What’s not love?!
Prep: 30mins
Cook: 1hr 40mins
Serves: 10
Ingredients:
- 4 egg whites, at room temperature
- 215g (1 cup) caster sugar
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Cocoa, sifted
- 2 x 220g ctn Extra Light Philadelphia Cream Cheese Spreadable, at room temperature
- 200g low-fat ricotta
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 400g strawberries, hulled, sliced
- Fresh berries, to serve
- 10g dark chocolate, finely grated
Low Fat Sauce
- 100g (1/2 cup, firmly packed) brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons Cocoa
- 3 teaspoons cornflour
- 250ml (1 cup) water
- 1 star anise, whole
Method:
- Preheat oven to 120C/100C fan forced. Line 2 baking trays with baking paper. Draw two 20cm circles on each lined tray and turn the paper ink-side down.
- Use electric beaters to beat egg white in a clean, dry bowl until firm peaks form. Gradually add caster sugar, 1 tbs at a time, beating constantly until sugar dissolves and mixture is thick and glossy. Beat in vinegar. Sift half the cocoa powder over the meringue mixture. Use a large metal spoon to fold and create a swirled effect.
- Divide mixture among circles. Use palette knife to spread meringue until discs are even. Use a sieve to dust remaining cocoa over the meringue discs. Use the palette knife to swirl into meringue slightly. Bake, swapping trays halfway through, for 1 hour 40 minutes until meringues are crisp and dry. Turn oven off. Leave meringues in oven, with door closed, to cool completely.
- Meanwhile, for chocolate sauce, combine brown sugar, cocoa powder and cornflour in a saucepan. Stir in water and star anise until well combined. Stir over low heat for 5 minutes or until mixture boils and thickens. Transfer to a bowl. Cover surface with plastic wrap to prevent skin forming. Set aside for 2 hours to cool and thicken.
- Use electric beaters to beat cream cheese, ricotta and vanilla in a bowl until smooth and creamy. Place in the fridge for 1 hour to cool and thicken.
- Place 1 meringue on serving plate. Carefully spread with half the cream cheese mixture. Top with half the strawberries. Repeat with second meringue, cream cheese mixture and strawberries. Drizzle with a little chocolate sauce. Sprinkle with berries and grated chocolate. Serve with remaining sauce on the side.
Source: Taste.com.au
Cheeky G&T Cheesecake – this one’s for the adults!
This cheeky cheesecake is perfect for Christmas with its vibrant red and green hues. Topped with strawberry gin and tonic jelly gin, this is one is a treat just for the adults and we think it might just be our new favourite festive indulgence.
Cook: 1+hr
Serves: 8 serves
Ingredients:
Biscuit base:
- 50g unsalted butter, melted
- ½ vanilla pod, scraped and de-seeded
- 130g digestive biscuits
Lime Cheesecake:
- 200g cream cheese, room temperature
- 300g condensed milk
- 112g natural yoghurt
- 112g sour cream
- 8g titanium strength gelatine, softened in water
- 1 lime, zested
Strawberry Essence:
- 120g frozen strawberries, roughly chopped
- 25g caster (super fine) sugar
Strawberry Gin and Tonic Jelly:
- 60ml strawberry essence
- 100ml tonic water
- 30ml gin
- 10ml fresh lime juice
- 15g titanium strength gelatine, softened
To assemble:
- 2 punnets of strawberries
- 1 lime
- ¼ bunch of fresh mint
- 20g nappage
Method:
- For the biscuit base, attach the food processor onto the Kenwood Chef XL Titanium machine and then blitz the digestive biscuits until they are fine crumbs. Place into a medium bowl.
- In a small saucepan, bring the butter and vanilla pod and seeds to the boil over a medium heat. Keep cooking until the butter has a nutty smell to it and it has coloured slightly. When the butter is ready, remove from the stove and remove the vanilla pod. Allow the butter to cool.
- Mix together the digestive biscuits and the butter until well combined.
- Line a small baking tray with baking paper and then place an 18cm round cake ring on top. Line the cake ring with acetate and then spread the biscuit base onto the bottom of the ring and using a spoon push down the mixture until flat and even.
- Place into the refrigerator until needed.
- For the lime cheesecake, in a Kenwood Chef XL Titanium machine, fitted with the K-beater attachment or your stand mixer, beat the cream cheese on a medium speed until completely smooth.
- Turn the machine off and scrape down the sides of the bowl and K-beater. Return the speed to medium and then increase to fast. Make sure there is no cream cheese lumps.
- Turn the machine off and add in the yogurt and sour cream. Return the speed to medium and beat until completely combined and smooth.
- In a small saucepan, warm the condensed milk over a low heat to 60°C. Remove from the heat and stir in the softened gelatine.
- Strain the condensed milk and then slowly pour the condensed milk mixture into the cream cheese mixture while the electric mixer is on a low to medium speed
- When the cheese cake mixture is completely combined and smooth. Remove the bowl from the machine and stir in the lime zest.
- Pour the mixture into the cake ring on top of the biscuit base. Place into the freezer for at least one hour or until the cheesecake has set.
- For the strawberry essence, in a medium metal bowl or heat proof bowl toss together the frozen strawberries, lemon juice and sugar, then seal the bowl with clear wrap. Allow to sit overnight on the kitchen bench to allow the strawberries juices to draw out.
- Pass the strawberry mixture through a sieve. Do not press through the strawberries; allow it to pass through by itself so the liquid remains clear and to avoid lumps of strawberries being pushed through. Reserve until ready to make the jelly.
- For the strawberry gin and tonic jelly, in a small saucepan, bring 50mL of the tonic water just to the boil. Meanwhile place the remaining tonic water, strawberry essence, gin and fresh lime juice into a medium bowl.
- When the tonic water has come just to the boil, remove from the heat and stir in the softened gelatine.
- Strain the gelatine mixture into the bowl with the other ingredients and stir together.
- Pour 200mls of the jelly onto the cheesecake in the cake ring. Place into the freezer for one hour or until the jelly has set.
- To assemble the cheesecake, take out of the freezer and unmould from the cake ring. Take of the acetate and place onto the serving plate. Allow the cheesecake to defrost for at least 30 minutes.
- Cut the green off the strawberries and then cut into halves. Place into a medium bowl and lightly dress with the nappage.
- Cut the lime into 6 wedges and pick the leaves of the mint off.
- Decorate the cheesecake with the strawberries, making sure they do not fall off the cheesecake.
- Garnish the cheesecake with the fresh mint and lime wedges.
Source: Kitchen.nine.com.au